If you’re really into saddle stitching, you might enjoy this guide I cooked up a while back:
Love it, im nerding out what great graphics to make it plain and clear. I do like armitage, his videos were key to it finally clicking for me. But i do tend to transition from a conscious placement/casting, to happen more automatically, as you lay needles in holes your brain starts to identify the twist. I usually have to do a warm up run before i go to the real thing if its been a while.
Do you think there’s a role for doing an overhand knot /lock in the saddle stitch sometimes? I kinda think it helps them look tighter when they have a lot of leather to get through, thinking of handsewn loafers/mocs like rancourt, or Russell that does a double knot. I did a couple moccasins and I thought without the knot the stitches looked more separate and less slanted
Well since we have a whole thread for it here’s Nigel’s updated videos from this year
I’ve yet to see an example of its use where it really made sense to me, but I’m open to learning more.
I’ve seen it used where I had reservations, in large part on a point that I think I remember Armitage’s videos mention: When pulling threads tight, it’s not actually the thread crossing in your current hole that you’re tightening up. It’s the cross in the previous hole. The friction of the thread against the material holds it. The tension on the current hole will relax a bit as soon as you release tension, not to as loose as when you passed the needles through, but not as tight as you want in the end. This is part of the reason backstitching and burying’s important, even when stitching double-needle by hand.
Sewing with rosin or another binding agent could change that. But binding agents already do the job of helping to hold tension. It’s doing the job that knotting’s meant to do, at least as I understand it.
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